"But just because all around you are doing it doesn't make it right," he said.

As the case played out, however, Zettler was punished far more severely for the break-in spree than the steroids scandal that prompted UW to scrap its 2010 football season.

Flynn said he had to consider that steroids trafficking is punishable by a maximum of three years in custody, far below penalties for dealing in street drugs such as crack cocaine.

He also noted residential break-ins carry possible life terms under long-standing laws recognizing the sanctity of homes as safe havens.

As a result, Flynn gave Zettler six months in custody for the break-ins and just two months, to be served at the same time, for his drug crimes.

The six-month jail term also took into account about a month of pretrial custody and more than three years Zettler spent on restrictive bail terms.

Defence lawyer Steve Gehl, who said the affair was driven by players who wanted to bulk up to compete for professional football jobs, had argued for 90 days of weekends in jail and a period of house arrest.

Flynn concluded straight jail time was needed to send a message that "this is the kind of cost this kind of cheater has to pay."

Prosecutors sought 15 to 21 months in custody, including up to nine months for the steroids offences alone.

Zettler pleaded guilty to four break-ins and the theft of patio furniture from a Canadian Tire store for his house on Bridgeport Road East.

Taken from the optometry building at UW was living-room furniture, while student residences were targeted for laptop computers, snowboards and other goods.

Two boxes of steroids and related drugs were stolen by Zettler, Valeriote and Legare during a break-in at a Strasburg Road home in Kitchener owned by Nathan McCann.

Their downfall came after a credit card taken in a break-in at a student residence the same night was used at a gas station and a drive-thru restaurant. Both transactions were caught on video surveillance.

Police began interviewing UW football players after a subsequent search of Zettler's home turned up the two boxes of drugs along with more steroids in his dresser.

As the scandal spread, nine players either tested positive or admitted using banned performance-enhancing drugs.

They included Matthew Peto and Spencer Zimmerman-Cryer, who told investigators they bought $180 worth of drugs from Zettler after the Strasburg break-in, but only took them for a few days.

Despite the shock waves felt at UW and universities across the country, the facts actually admitted by Zettler suggested the steroid use wasn't long-standing or sophisticated.

Gehl said Zettler started taking drugs just two weeks before his arrest, and Peto and Zimmerman-Cryer were his only proven buyers.

Zettler pleaded guilty to possession of six kinds of steroids for the purpose of trafficking, selling two controlled substances under the Food and Drug Act, and two counts of trafficking substances held out to be steroids.

At the time, he was on two probation orders stemming from criminal harassment charges, a key factor considered by the judge in rejecting house arrest.

"That's the time to prove yourself," Flynn said of the probation terms, "and you blew it."

Federal prosecutor Clyde Bond said he was pleased by Flynn's tough comments despite the fact his call for a stiff jail term for the steroids offences wasn't heeded.

Gehl said it's unfortunate Zettler, who overcame a difficult upbringing to get to UW, will be sidelined by jail as he tries to put his life back in order.

"He has to start over," he said. "It does appear Nathan really has, over the last two or three years, reformed himself as best he could."

Zettler declined an opportunity to speak on his own behalf before sentencing.

Valeriote and Legare pleaded guilty in 2010 and 2011 to involvement in break-ins. Both were spared jail time.

The head of the national organization that oversees doping control said the outcome of the Zettler case reinforces the message that dealing steroids is a crime.

"We are pleased it has been concluded and we regret the negative consequences for the clean athletes at the University of Waterloo," said Paul Melia of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport.